A Pumpkin Proposal
by LilyGhost
Summary: In his own way, Ranger gets into the spirit of the holiday by finding a unique way to truly frighten Stephanie on Halloween. Told from Ranger's POV.


**This is the second Halloween story I hadn't planned on writing, but thanks to ShellSueD's pumpkin and Margaret's hope for a Rangeman party, I felt I should write this one for them. Everything familiar belongs to Janet. All mistakes are mine.**

I don't do holidays ... Halloween especially. A day that gives kids a free pass to beg complete strangers for enough sugar to induce vomiting, doesn't sound at all constructive or productive. But it _is _Stephanie's favorite holiday, so I was attempting to let the candy she'd brought into the control room today slide. I wanted Steph in a good mood for what I have in store for her tonight. If Stephanie wanted to be truly frightened, I've found an ideal way of doing it.

"Why are you looking like that?" Steph asked me, tipping her head to the side to study me.

"Like what, Babe?"

"I've seen that same 'I know something you don't know' look constantly on Valerie's face growing up. You're obviously up to something."

"You wanted today to be a memorable holiday, and I'm trying to be accommodating."

"Did you do something other than give me permission for a party. If you did, do I get a hint?" Stephanie asked, coming close enough to me to kiss the skin right above the collar of my t-shirt.

"Are you trying to seduce information out of me, Babe?" I asked her, valiantly keeping my attention on our conversation instead of on what else I wanted her lips touching.

If I thought Stephanie was serious in her plan to use her mouth against me, I'd be dragging her up to our apartment right now. Steph is a huge flirt, but only gets serious about seduction when she has time to fully devote to it. And I knew she was heading out in a few minutes with Hal to pick up a skip.

I'd given Hal explicit instructions that Stephanie is to be within sight - and remain protected - from the time she leaves here until the minute she came back, because if Steph gets hurt today of all days, he'll find himself in the ICU at St. Francis not long after I get my hands on him.

Stephanie sighed, and her warm breath gliding over my skin had me rethinking my immediate plans. I wanted nothing more than to take Stephanie back to seven and do all the things I didn't have time for this morning. Sometimes being the head of a company sucked when there were other matters I thought needed my personal attention.

"Even _I _couldn't get you to talk if you don't want to, Ranger," Steph told me. "I wouldn't be opposed to trying if you're going to be here for a while."

"You're only saying that because you know Tank and I are also on our way out."

Steph smiled. "Maybe I am, but it gave us both something good to think about for the rest of the day."

I circled Stephanie's waist with my arms. "I think it's safe to say that tonight will be one you won't soon forget, Babe."

"You say that _every _night, Ranger," she told me.

"And have I ever lied?"

Stephanie's smile suddenly got bigger. "No. You haven't. Every time we get ready for bed, you say something similar ... and you haven't disappointed."

"That's my line, Babe."

"And it's been a good one, too. So ... _no _on the hints?" She asked.

"No hints."

Stephanie exhaled loudly, making a curl fly up and then land in a spot my lips really enjoy exploring.

"Okay, I can wait," Steph told me. "I'll have a reason to hurry up and get my guy so I can snoop around here before the party."

"You won't find anything," I said to her.

"I didn't think I would, but I like to believe I can out sneak you once in a while."

"It _is _fun to see you try."

"You're embracing a less scary mood today. You must be feeling pretty good."

"You made sure that I was feeling _real _good this morning, Steph," I told her, just to see her blush.

Stephanie is extremely active when she chooses to be. And my mouth on select areas of her body made Steph more than active. I make it a point to offer a lot of alternative exercise if Stephanie refuses gym time.

"So you bring out certain reactions in me ..."

"A _huge _and very _satisfied _reaction, Babe."

She snorted, but I wasn't offended.

"I'll see you at four?" I asked Steph.

"Yeah. Ella told me she's handling the snacks, so I'm on decoration duty. We've brainstormed on food concepts, but Ella is the one who will be carrying them out. A Halloween party here is something _I'd _hoped to have, and Ella is determined to make it the perfect one."

"It is Rangeman's first," I told her.

"It is. Thanks for that. I know this isn't your kind of thing, but the guys should get to have a night off to eat junk food and not be responsible for the fate of the world."

"They should, but I'm more interested in making _you _happy."

"Mission accomplished. The only thing you could do to make me happier right now, is have a birthday cake appear right in front of me."

"My powers don't run towards baked goods, Babe."

"Too bad, but I'll be okay with a stress-free night with my guys."

"I don't like to share you, Steph."

"You'll be fine. It's only for part of the night. The rest of it ... I'm all yours."

Stephanie doesn't know just how right she is.

"See you this evening," I told her.

"Stay safe," she said back.

"I will. Be careful," was my response.

"_I will_," she repeated.

After a thorough kiss or two, Steph was driving off in Hal's SUV and I was left to pick up my own skip and then get the two things I needed for tonight.

"What the hell is this Halloween crap about?" Tank asked, after he'd hauled his ass into the passenger's side of my super cab.

"Stephanie asked if a party was okay, and I said yes."

"Why? You hate holiday shit more than I do."

While that is true, there's a reason for every decision I make, and I'm the only one who knows why a Halloween party is being allowed tonight.

"_Why _I approved her request doesn't matter. Stephanie wants you there, so your ass had better be on the floor right along with everyone else's."

"She already nailed me on that," Tank said, sounding unsure of how Stephanie managed to get him to attend.

I'm not surprised. Stephanie isn't shy when she wants something, and she wanted everyone who was free to show up and have a good time. They'll be getting one hell of a shock right alongside Stephanie.

It's common knowledge that Halloween is a bad day for collecting FTAs. All the fucked up addicts, dealers, and sociopaths crawl out of the gutter and woodwork to start fights, riots, and mayhem in all forms. I wasn't anticipating any problems with apprehending Schwartz, but I'm always prepared for anything.

Tank, however, seemed a little thrown when we located the skip and he came at us with a pitchfork. It isn't a weapon normally seen in Trenton, but I viewed it as just a variation of what I've been threatened with in the past; baseball bats, tire irons, and 2x4's ... to name just a few. And as I've done countless times before with similar objects, when the pitchfork swung close enough to grab, I gripped the handle with my hands a foot apart, and quickly used it to pin Schwartz to the brick wall by his neck.

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood or I'd be using this," I told Schwartz, putting more pressure on his jugular, "to teach you a very valuable lesson."

"Which would be what?" Tank asked, still amused at Schwartz's pathetic attempt at scaring me. "How not to act like a pussy? Schwartz seems to really enjoy being one."

I tossed the pitchfork aside before I changed my mind about using it, and cuffed Schwartz. Getting him booked at the TPD took longer than the actual takedown. But I still had enough time to drop Tank back off at Rangeman and hit the jewelers for the ring I'd ordered weeks ago. Then from there, stop at another shop I never thought I'd step into.

I spent more money than anyone should to have a single pumpkin carved, but I wanted it perfect. As my clients are all aware, you have to pay a little extra to ensure you have the best. I'd chosen only two words ... "Marry Me" to be etched into a real pumpkin, since Stephanie is emphatically against the artificial kind.

I wanted no question or question mark added to the words. Stephanie isn't going to be given a choice. She will either agree to my proposal immediately after reading it, or an hour later when I've had a chance to convince her that marrying me has its share of benefits ... including plenty of _intimate _ones, which is what I'd start with.

I put Stephanie's ring in the glove compartment, and left the pumpkin on the floor of my truck until I found a way to incorporate it into her decorations. Everyone will know what happened tonight, but I wanted Stephanie's initial reaction to be a private one. There would be time for celebrating after she said yes.

"How did your day go?" Steph asked me, when I'd found her in the control room kitchen.

"It went well. Yours?"

"I got Harnell and more party supplies. Hal was sweet to haul both to the car and into buildings for me."

"That's what I pay him for, Babe."

"You pay Hal because he's huge, scary when he has to be, and has more patience than either of us."

"Those are Rangeman requirements."

"Unless you need a few 'stealthy' men, then you hire not-so-huge, scary, patient men."

"Are you getting the conference room ready?" I asked her.

"Since my snooping proved useless ... yes. Ella's making sure the guys working will have food, but she promised to join me when she's done. I was just getting a snack before I head to party central. Do you want to help me?"

"No, but I'll keep you company. I need to do one thing first and then I'm at your disposal."

"I like the sound of that," Steph said, pressing her body tight to mine, so much so that I'm glad I left the ring downstairs so Steph wouldn't feel it digging into her. "I'll eat my bag of chips in here and then I'll get started in the conference room."

That worked for me. I'll have a chance to get the two items I needed from the garage up to the conference room. I know Stephanie, and she'll be scouring the kitchen for more chips once the first bag is empty, so I should have plenty of time to set this up.

I scrambled the cameras after I reached my truck. I beeped it unlocked, pocketed the ring, and grabbed the pumpkin out of the back. I turned it so the words wouldn't be seen in case I ran into someone on the stairs. The men know not to question me, but I didn't want them catching the words and ruining the surprise.

Steph wasn't in the room when I got back to the fifth floor, so I slipped my pumpkin in among the ones Hal had brought up for Stephanie. Hers weren't carved, but Steph had found some that had faces painted on them in various stages of fright. I took an extra minute to unscramble the cameras, then went back to conference room and folded my fingers over the ring box as I waited for Stephanie to come in and the fireworks to begin.

I didn't have long to wait. Steph stepped into the room with a sugar cookie in her hand.

"You've seen Ella?" I asked her, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah. She gave me a cookie and told me she'd be done shortly," Steph said, popping a chunk of the cookie in my mouth when she'd made it over to me.

"So you don't need me," I said to her, careful not to show any disgust so Stephanie wouldn't try feeding me another bite of the overly-sweet cookie.

"I always need you," she told me, "but I know you don't like doing things like this. I'll be happy with you just talking to me. Ella's already moved onto party food, so I've got to get the decorations spread out. Lester's head is in the fridge as we speak."

"I'm not asking questions, Babe."

"It's more a _picture _of Lester's head, but whoever opens the fridge won't know that."

"So if Binkie starts shrieking, I know the reason."

"Yup," Steph said, then sighed. "I suppose I should get the tablecloth and pumpkins on the table so Ella can put the trays of food out when she's ready."

"I can help with that if you want," I told her.

"Sure. You can hand me the pumpkins and I'll arrange them."

"Sounds good," I told her, and waited for Stephanie to spread out the black tablecloth, followed by a smaller orange one with 'scary' cut-outs so the black would show through.

This is the only way Steph would ever set a table without being in her mother's house, and I love her for that alone. Stephanie smoothed out the fabric, then stepped back from the large rectangular table, trying to decide what to grab first.

"Maybe you should start with the largest pumpkins, Babe," I said to her. "Then you can maneuver everything around - and in between - them."

She looked over at me. "You know how to decorate now?"

"No. I'm just being logical."

Steph blew out a sigh and then took my advice. I wasn't going to ask why she hadn't carved her own pumpkins, settling for purchased ones instead. As I really thought about it, I didn't think Stephanie wielding a sharp object in this building would bode well for Lester or Ramon.

I handed a few of the heavier pumpkins to her, but left mine for Stephanie to pick up on her own.

"_Shit!_" Steph exclaimed, three pumpkins in

"What's wrong, Babe?" I asked, coming up behind her.

This is going to be fun, but I will have to keep my nuts out of striking range when Stephanie finally catches on.

"There must have been a mix up at the pumpkin place, because I obviously got someone else's," she told me. "Not only am I down a pumpkin now, someone's probably freaking out because their proposal is ruined."

"I'm sure they're fine, Steph."

Her eyebrows rose as she looked from the words on the pumpkin then back to me.

"_How can you say that?! _Clearly someone had an important evening planned, and the biggest part of it is currently in my hands."

"Which are the _right _ones, Babe."

"Right, what?" Steph asked, distracted.

I knew Stephanie was already trying to figure out who she could call to get the proposal pumpkin back where it belonged.

"The right _hands_, Steph. That pumpkin was intended for _you_ ... no one else."

Her mouth fell open in disbelief, and Stephanie would have dropped the pumpkin if I hadn't taken it out of her hands.

"Run that by me again," Stephanie said, after some of the color returned to her face.

A ghostly white complexion is appropriate if not flattering, I thought, not taking my eyes off Stephanie's face.

"You don't need me to repeat anything, Babe. You heard every word I said."

I took the ring box out of the front pocket of my cargo pants and removed the ring from it.

"This is yours if you want it, Stephanie," I told her quietly.

"What the heck am I supposed to do with _that_?" She asked, looking at the ring I was holding out to her.

"Wear it?" I said, trying to hide my grin.

Stephanie would seriously try to hurt me if I laughed right now.

"Are you crazy?" Steph asked me.

"Yes, but that won't keep you from marrying me."

I took her left hand in mine and slid the ring onto her finger with my right hand. As expected, it fit her perfectly. And the large round diamond sitting where two thin diamond bands met, looked beautiful on her. Or more accurately, _Stephanie _made the ring look beautiful.

"Ranger ... this ring is too big for someone like me," she said, staring at our hands.

"We disagree then, because it's not big enough for what I think you should have, Babe."

"But it won't go with my uniform," Steph said, trying out a different argument.

I knew she'd have a problem with the extravagance of the ring I'd chosen, but Stephanie will just have to get over it. The ring isn't being returned, and Stephanie isn't removing it.

"Your uniform is all black, Steph. And you say all the time that black goes with everything."

"Well, black cargo pants don't go with a diamond the size of a small country ... or a ring that could feed residents of one for a solid year."

That's an exaggeration, but not a huge one.

"This is the engagement ring I wanted to give you, Babe, so I'd consider it a personal favor if you'd leave it on your finger."

Steph cut her eyes to me. "Ranger, I _do _love it ... it's just I don't trust myself with a piece of jewelry that costs more than a house."

"The price tag isn't an issue, Steph."

"I know. I'm sorry I'm being such a pain about it. It _is _beautiful. Thank you."

"There are no thanks needed, Babe. I want you to know that I'm serious here. This is not some half-assed proposal like Morelli would offer."

"Nothing about this has to do with Joe, Ranger," Steph told me.

"It doesn't. I just meant that I'm only waiting on you to pick a date, Steph. We can do this tomorrow or ten years from now and make either work."

"We all know you can make anything work, don't we?"

"Yes," I told her, bringing both her hands to my mouth and tracing her knuckles with my tongue just to watch Stephanie gulp air.

Stephanie didn't notice Ella enter the room, but I'm sure I wasn't the only one who caught her swift intake of air.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," Ella said, trying not to smile.

I let Steph go, but didn't let her get too far away from me.

"You're fine, Ella," I told the woman.

I could see Stephanie was debating what to do, but Ella has been with me long enough not to mince words.

"Did I just see a diamond ring on your finger?" She asked Stephanie.

"Steph?" I said.

Stephanie swallowed, took a breath, then faced Ella.

"You did," she told Ella. "Ranger and I are officially _engaged_."

Ella has also learned to control her reactions and impulses. So instead of squealing like I know she wanted to, Ella rushed forward and grabbed Stephanie's hand.

"_I can't believe it!_" Ella told us, holding Steph's left hand up to the light.

"That makes two of us," Stephanie said. "I'm still shocked Ranger wants to marry me."

"Why wouldn't he?" She asked Stephanie. "You're an amazing woman."

"No. That would be _you_, Ella, but I appreciate you saying it about me."

"Ella's is an opinion we all share, Babe," I told her.

"This is so exciting," Ella said. "We're going to have a Rangeman wedding."

"Eventually," Steph said.

"Of course. You both should get to enjoy this time before wedding plans come into play."

"Will you help me and Ranger with them?" Steph asked her.

"Nothing would please me more, Stephanie. I just came in to tell you that the food for your party is just about done, but this is ten times better than a Halloween gathering. How did Ranger propose?"

Steph took a few steps away from me and gestured towards the pumpkin.

"That is so romantic," Ella told me, after reading the words.

I'd been shooting for memorable, or unique, but I suppose romantic is acceptable in this case. I'm sure there would have been a much longer conversation on the subject, but the festivities had apparently started early.

"_Sonuvabitch!_" I heard coming from what sounded like the control room kitchen.

I cut my eyes to Stephanie, who had a large smile on her face as she turned the proposal pumpkin around. I lifted my eyebrow at her and waited for her to explain Bobby's exclamation.

"I wasn't kidding when I said I put Lester's head in the fridge ... the fridge down here," she told me, giving an annoyed Brown a finger wave when he walked in. Bobby only stopped glaring at Stephanie to nod at Ella as she slipped past him with a secret smile on her face.

"Explain," I told Stephanie.

"Hector helped me alter and then laminate a photo of Lester. I put the picture in a jar big enough to fit his head in, added water tinted to look like a preserving solution, which made a decapitated Lester head that is being kept 'fresh' in the refrigerator."

"It scared the shit out of me," Bobby told Steph, obviously annoyed with her.

"We heard," I told Bobby.

"Uh, that was kind of the point of it, Bobby," Steph said. "To scare people."

"You don't have anything else up your sleeve, do you?" Bobby asked Steph.

I noticed that Stephanie had tucked her left hand behind her back, and I had to wonder what she was up to. Steph's eyes met mine briefly before she addressed Bobby again.

"I may have another surprise or two planned."

"Shit," Bobby said under his breath.

"Don't worry," she told him, "we're gonna have fun."

"I'd be reassured hearing that, but I've learned that _your _idea of fun is _very _different than _mine_."

I could almost see Brown replaying the last mall trip he took with Stephanie. The bastard had it coming for being a dick about not wanting to go in the first place. I had suggested to Steph that she also look for shoes while they were out, just as added incentive for Brown to keep his mouth shut next time.

When I give an order, I expect it to be carried out quickly and quietly. That day had ended well for me. Brown was back to being a model employee after that, and I reaped the benefits from their mall time by getting to look at Stephanie's legs all night in the new dress and stilettos she wore when I'd taken her out to dinner after she and Bobby had come back.

"You get free snacks," Steph told Bobby. "And you all can hang out without dodging bullets. What's not to like about that?"

"Who's shooting at us?" Woody asked, walking into the conference room.

"No one," Steph told him. "That's the point. This isn't a party so much as a night for us all to share the same space at the same time."

"I'm always up for a good time," Lester said to Steph, joining us with a bottle of water in one hand and his floating head in the other. "I would've given you a picture of a body part bigger than my head had you asked, Steph."

"I'm going to remove both parts if you don't shut your face, Santos," I told him.

"On that note," Steph said on a sigh, "everyone out. I have to get the rest of this stuff set up."

"We've got some time to kill," Bobby told her, "if you need us."

"That's okay. I've got this. I'll let you know when it's time to come back."

"We'll be around if you change your mind," Woody told Steph.

"What you really mean, is that you'll stay close by in case Ella decides to hand out samples," she said to him.

"We're not stupid," Woody said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Just hungry," Bobby added.

"I'll try to be quick. We have to wait until it's dark out anyway."

"Why?" Lester asked.

"Because Halloween is a _night_time holiday."

I bent my head close to Stephanie's ear. "So is Valentine's Day, Babe," I whispered.

"Stop it," she told me.

"What'd he say?" Bobby asked Steph. "Your face just turned bright red."

"Maybe Steph's changed her mind about wearing a costume and is going as a lobster tonight, and is getting a jump on her costume."

More like Stephanie will be going to this party as an engaged woman. Ten minutes ago, Stephanie would've sworn to have more in common with a lobster than a soon-to-be-bride.

"Bye, guys," she told them, staring at the men until they filed out of the room.

"What are you planning?" I asked Stephanie, when we were alone again.

"I just thought I'd have a little more fun with the guys, and leave your pumpkin on the table with the others and see how long it takes for someone to notice."

"You're not worried about overshadowing your party skills and Ella's food?"

"Nope. You saw how happy Ella was. She won't mind waiting until the end of the night to hear some marriage proposals of her own."

"Louis will prevent any of those, Babe."

"He can try. Okay, I seriously have to haul ass. Do you want to hang stuff or hand me stuff?"

"I don't decorate, Babe."

"Unless it comes to my finger," she said softly.

Not softly enough. "Are you getting used to the idea yet?" I asked her.

Stephanie held out her hand in front of her, and looked at the large diamond and the small ones leading to it, sparkle in the light.

"Nope," she said, after a few seconds. "I'm not used to it _at all_."

"You don't have to be right now, Babe. You're going to have decades to become very familiar with your ring ... and the one that will join it."

Her eyes popped open. "Crap. _We have to get married!_"

"That's usually how it works, Steph. Isn't that what you told Tank?"

"Yeah, but that's when it was about _Tank_. And if you remember ... he fainted right after I said it. I'm a little shaky right now, but I'm still standing. Who knew I was made of stronger stuff than Tank?"

"We can have a long engagement, Babe. That isn't a problem."

"Really? Waiting wouldn't bother you?"

"No. We're together, and we'll stay together ... with one ring or three."

"Yet you still want to actually marry me ... _eventually_?" She asked, taking her eyes off her finger and shifting them to me.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Why not?" I countered.

"Fair enough. You seem to like me in your space, so getting married won't really be a huge adjustment for us."

"Now you're getting it, Babe. Nothing changes except your last name if you want mine."

"How about a hyphen?"

"If that works for you," I told her.

"It does. Okay, I can do a wedding ... I think ... but a _very _small one. And only _after _we've enjoyed the hell out of our engagement."

"Sounds good. Now that we have that settled, do you want to finish getting this room done?"

"Yeah, then we can concentrate on having a private party after this one's done."

I grinned down at her. "That sounds even better."

I had to admit, Stephanie knew what she was doing. The room soon took shape, resulting in a Halloween haven that Stephanie seemed to be very proud of. I don't give two shits about holidays, but I approve of anything that makes Steph smile like that.

Stephanie's smile almost rivaled Ella's, since Ella was still basking in our engagement. Steph and I knew our life will for the most part remain the same, but Ella is a hopeless romantic, and was probably mentally mapping out our wedding cake as we speak. I'll let the two of them handle that when the time comes, but tonight is all about Stephanie as far as I'm concerned. She loves Halloween and the people here, and she has really outdone herself combining both.

Steph came over to me and slipped her arm around my waist. "You like it?"

"You definitely transformed the room, Babe."

There were glow stick-lit eyes peering at me from all directions, and Steph had super-sized spiders climbing the walls. I'd held her body tight as Stephanie attached glow-in-the-dark ghosts to the ceiling, then watched as she set up a few skeletons around a small table so they'd look like they were in the middle of a drinking game, even though they no longer have organs to hold the liquor. Steph also draped the room in glow-in-the-dark spider webs so when she turned the lights down, and added a few black lights, the conference room would glow. It's clear that Steph is in her element here.

"I didn't want to completely disregard your food rules," Steph told me. "Thanks to Ella, we were able to come up with a few healthy snack options ... along with a couple not-so-healthy ones."

When Ella and Stephanie started setting the food out, I could easily pick out the _good for yous _- which is what Steph calls them - versus the devil's food that I see the fat and sugar-laden 'treats' as. There was crudite arranged around a non-fat sour cream dip housed inside a scooped out pumpkin, which I'm sure Steph thought counteracted the pumpkin pie cheesecake dip and gingerbread cookies she had sitting next to it. Ella had peeled a dozen or so oranges and tangerines, added a few spring onions for stems, creating 'pumpkins' for a quick and healthy snack, along with halved bananas affixed with two chocolate chips for the ghost's eyes. And Ella had also done chopped fruit skewers that are now sticking out of one of Steph's smaller pumpkins.

The deviled eggs included in the spread had cut olive bodies and sliced olive legs to appear as if spiders were crawling off them. There was only one other carved pumpkin aside from mine, and that jack o' lantern was currently throwing up guacamole. _That _particular food would need someone with a strong stomach to tackle. There were also 'candy corn' pizzas, with orange and white cheeses layered over the sauce to look like the popular candy. That was obviously Stephanie's suggestion, and so was the ghost brownies created by setting ghost-shaped Peeps - which I didn't know existed until Steph explained what they were - on top of pans of warm brownies. My insulin spiked dangerously just from looking at them.

The watermelon carved to look like a brain could be either Ella or Stephanie's _brain_child, but no doubt the radish/olive eyeballs - which look surprisingly realistic - and black bat sugar cookies were Stephanie's idea. The chocolate covered pretzels which appeared to be staring at me were disturbing, but complemented Steph's spooky room nicely. And the pumpkin-shaped cheese ball with whole-grain crackers kept with the theme. Thankfully, Ella included orange rinds that had been divested of their flesh - and now had faces carved into them - which she filled with fruit salad only.

"You did good, Babe," I told her.

"I did ... with a lot of Ella's magic. I hope the guys appreciate it."

"They will. The men look forward to anything you do for them."

"So maybe they'll forgive me for making a game out of our engagement."

"They'll be happy either way, Steph."

"Let's see if that's true," she told me, and walked out to let everyone know that junk food was now available.

Ella and Steph had also sprinkled decorations throughout the control room and its kitchen so the men stuck at the monitors wouldn't feel completely left out, but the majority of the Halloween decor was contained to the conference room. I questioned my company's training techniques when it took more than ten minutes from the moment the men walked in, to the time Tank noticed the carved pumpkin versus the painted ones.

Steph was considering putting a candle inside mine until I pointed out that the light would attract attention to something she wanted them to discover on their own.

"What the fuck?" Tank said, a puzzled frown on his face.

"What?" Lester asked, walking over to him.

Tank turned the 'Marry Me' pumpkin so the words faced everyone.

"_Holy shit!_"Bobby said, louder than I thought the occasion warranted.

"Who the hell is engaged?" Vince asked the room.

"Umm, that would be me," Steph told him. "And I guess Ranger, too."

"Are you fucking with us?" Tank asked me.

"No."

"There's no trick here," Steph said, showing them her ring.

The large round diamond that made up most of the ring, looked like a miniature pumpkin itself as it caught the light from the blinking pumpkin necklace Stephanie had added to her Rangeman uniform.

"Ranger asked me to marry him via the pumpkin, and I said yes," Steph continued.

"_Holy fucking crap!_" Lester said, again too dramatic in my opinion.

"Yup ... that was pretty much my reaction," Steph told him. "But I'm getting more accustomed to it. Ranger has great taste in jewelry."

"And women, Babe."

She smiled at me. "And women," Steph repeated.

"So you're serious about getting hitched?" Bobby asked us.

"Yes," I told the men. "We'll get married whenever Stephanie feels it's time."

"Cool," Ram said, flipping up the head of a PEZ witch and eating the candy contents like a five-year-old. "A Christmas wedding."

"I didn't say a single word about a holiday anything," Steph told Ram. "Ranger and I are going to enjoy this time together, we're not rushing any of it."

"We're invited, aren't we?" Hal asked.

"Yeah. Everybody will be invited."

"To invite everyone at Rangeman, Babe, will alter your plans for a small wedding."

"Fine. Our wedding will include only the people who love us. How's that?"

"Looks like we're in," Bobby said.

"You're all in," Steph told them, taking a sip of something green from a Halloween-themed mason jar. "I consider myself a Rangewoman, and I'm counting on my Rangeman being there when this wedding takes place."

"Once we decide on a date, Babe, I'll figure out a schedule so everyone can attend."

Steph tucked her hand in mine and leaned into my body.

"That's all I really want, Ranger. _You_. Everybody here as friends. And plenty of reasons to celebrate after Halloween's over."

Steph probably doesn't think I have it in me, but I plan on us celebrating _every _day we have together.


End file.
